Star Gods: Book Four of Seeds of a Fallen Empire

by Anne Spackman

  The Dark Age of 1200 BC:

  For many reasons, a dark age fell over the Meditteranean world around 1200BC. The Hittite Empire fell (about 1180BC), possibly due to another sack of Troy (VII) and Achaian sea pirate raids against Anatolia, to internal political turmoil (the emperor was inexplicably betrayed by someone close to him) and by the final attack of Phyrgians and Gasgas from the North.

  The Hittite Empire fell to invading Phyrgians and Gasgas. There was a mass exodus of Hellenic tribes from Greece and Hittites from Anatolia, which created vast numbers of wandering “sea peoples” and displaced tribes on land. Both of these factors led to what might be called “World War I of the ancient world”. The Near East began to change hands among would-be emperors left, right, and center. From Rameses’ records, we know that Skelesh (later Sicilians), Shardana (later Sardinians), Ekwesh (Achaians), Teresh (Trojans), Denyen (Danuna—Danaans? Tribe of Dan incorporated into Israel? (in Judges) Danes?), Tjeker (Teucri? Teucer? Likely Hittites), Lukka, (Lycians or Lydians, former Hittite kingdoms), Meshwesh (Mycenaens? Phyrgians?), Weshesh (Hitties from Wilios?), and other “Sea Peoples” formed a league with Libya in an attack on Egypt at one time or another, and that some later some of these groups joined Egypt against their former allies.

  The Hittite Empire remained unknown to modern times but for fragmented passages in the Bible, its cities undiscovered until 1834, its forgotten texts untranslated until the First World War, more than thirty-two centuries after the Hittite texts were recorded.

  During the dark age, Greece also forgot that it had once even been literate. Peasant Doric Greeks had swept the land, and the ancient palaces of Agamemmnon and his lesser kings were destroyed by fire, war, pirates, and still unknown catastrophes, turning many fleeing Greeks into wandering vagrants, traders, and pirates looking for new lands and treasures (as evidenced by their later appearance in Egypt and Palestine). Greek civilization as we know it didn’t rise again until about the seventh century BC, with the borrowing of the Phoenician alphabet, the rise of Athens, democracy, and the polis. (Greek democracy is still reputed to be the first form of democracy, though the council of the Hittite Kings ten centuries earlier was very probably a democratic body.)

  Most Greek heroes and myths still belong to the lost age of civilization before the fall of Troy.

  Dramatis Personae and places in Star Gods:

  Achaiwoi—a tribe on Kiel3, also called Ahhiyawans or Achaians (modern day Greeks)

  Alessia Valeria Zadúmchov—Uh-LESS-ee-yuh Vuh-LAIR-ee-yuh Zuh-DOOM-chav—daughter of the last Enorian Zariqua Enassa and Nerena Naliya Zadúmchov; Hinev’s assistant and the last survivor of Hinev’s immortal explorers

  Ariyalsynai—Ar-ri-YAL-sinn-eye–”white mountain” or “star mountain”; ancient capital of the planet Seynorynael

  Broah Malier—BRO-uh Muhl-LEER—cultural historian; one of Hinev’s explorers

  Celekar Calain–SEL-i-kar (harder "s") Kal-LAIN–a taciturn technician, one of Hinev’s explorers

  Clas Myrddin—the idle of the dead, “Myrddin’s enclosure”; a region on Kiel3 (Great Britain)

  Derstan Ekeri–DERR-stun Ee-KAIR-ee–communications specialist; one of Hinev’s explorers

  Diraovedas–Dihr-oo-vay-duhss–chief seer of a nation that escaped the Great Isle, a blind priest, or druid, of the planet Kiel3

  Eiron Vaikyure-Erlenkov–AIR-on VAI-kyure ER-lenn-kahv–a Tiasennian soldier and pilot

  Enor–EE-nor–a legendary planet

  Fynals Hinev–FAI-nahlss HAI-nev–the bio-geneticist who created the elixir of immortality known as “Hinev’s serum”; one of Kudenka’s explorers

  Great Green—or, the “Green Sea” on Kiel3; (now called the Mediterranean Sea)

  Goeur–Gerr, like the French "coeur"–a lost colony; also a planet

  Ioka Shiyer–EYE-oh-kuh SHEE-yer–one of Hinev’s explorers

  Fielikor Kiel–Fee-YEL-ee-kor Keel–chief engineer of The Firien Project; later the leader of Hinev’s explorers

  Firien—a city and region on Seynorynael surrounding Lake Firien; north of the weather-safe ring

  Kaptara—also called Keftiu; an island (now called Crete)

  Kemet—“the black land” of the river Iteru aa on Kiel3; (now called Egypt)

  Khatti—an empire on Kiel3; (now called the Hittite Empire); also refers to the region of Khatti (lands in modern Turkey)

  Ki-engi—a region on Kiel3 (Sumer)

  Ki-uri—a region on Kiel3 (Akkadia)

  Kudenka–Koo-DEN-kuh–scientist who led Kudenka’s explorers

  Lake Firien–Lake FEAR-ee-enn–large body of water on planet Seynorynael and the name of a remote province; Alessia’s childhood home and location of The Firien Project, a project to rebuild an ancient ruined spaceship that the ancients called “Selesta”

  Lierva Kazankov–Lee-AIR-vuh KA-zan-kov–commanding officer of The Firien Project; later one of Hinev’s explorers

  lyra–LEER-uh–the beautiful, mysteriously undying trees of Seynorynael; a formerly abundant, seeded, but now fruitless tree that can no longer be replaced once destroyed

  Marankeil–MAIR-enn-KEE-il–the mechanized Elder who became the eternal Emperor of Seynorynael

  Enlil–Mai-LENN-var–the Orian space battleship designed after Selesta

  Nerena–Ner-EE-nuh–Alessia’s mother, daughter of Grand Marshall Zadúmchov

  Nippur—city-state on Kiel3

  Onracey–Ahn-RASS-ee–one of Hinev’s explorers

  Orian—OR-eye-an—second planet of the Celestian worlds, whose leader is Sargon

  Ornenkai–OR-nen-kai–Elder of the Federation, later Vice-Emperor of the Seynorynaelian Empire

  Rega–REE-guh–white star of the Ayan worlds, Tiasenne and Meilarr

  Rikhsehr Gerryls–RICK-zair GAIR-rilss–a botanist, a part of The Firien Project and one of Hinev’s explorers

  Sargon—leader of the Orian people

  Selerael–Sel-AIR-ay-el (softer "s")–daughter of Alessia and Eiron Vaikyure-Erlenkov raised on Kiel3, or Earth

  Sesylendae–Ses-ILL-enn-day–explorer spaceship of Kudenka’s explorers

  Seynorynael–Say-NOR-i-NAY-el; originally Seh-nor-i-NAY-el–a planet which formed an intergalactic Federation that became an Empire

  Selesta–Sye-lerr-ESS-tee-uh–the greatest explorer spaceship ever to be built by the Seynorynaelian Empire, with a computer that seems to have a mind of its own; the spaceship of Hinev’s explorers

  Sharru-kinu–Sharr-oo-kee-noo–an ancient Earth king of the land of Ki-Uri (or Akkadia) who conquered the land between the two rivers; the first emporer of the known world; possibly the son of an Enorian

  Taruisa—Troia, Taruisha, now called “Troy”; a city-state in the Khatti Empire on Kiel3

  Tiasenne–Tee-uh-SENN–first planet of the two Celestian worlds

  Tulor–Too-LORR–one of the first two planets to join the Seynorynaelian Federation

  Ur and Uruk—“Ur” and “Erech” in the Bible; city-states in Ki-engi (known to us as “Shimar” or “Sumer”)

  Valeria–Vuh-LAIR-ee-uh–blue-white star of the planet Tiasenne

  Zariqua Enassa–ZAIR-ee-kuh or ZAR-ee-kuh Ee-NASS-suh–last colonizer of the planet Enor